Giant 5-Ingredient Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies are flourless, gluten-free, dairy-free and easy to make with one bowl. These simple yet delicious healthier peanut butter cookies are wholesome enough to be considered better for you yet delicious enough to be a delightful treat.
These easy healthy peanut butter oatmeal cookies with chocolate chips are heaven for those of us who adore peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies, and chocolate chip cookies.
All three are so delicious, why not allow them to play together?
The cookies turn out soft and fluffy with a lovely pillowy texture.
What I love about this recipe is it requires one bowl, hardly any time, only 5 ingredients, and you don’t need to chill the dough before baking.
PLUS, you get to drop mounds of dough on a cookie sheet, forming whatever size cookies you want!
I make 6 giant cookies, because I have very little restraint when it comes to a good time.
If you love healthier oatmeal cookie recipes, also check out my Healthy 6-Ingredient Apple Oatmeal Cookies, 6-Ingredient Healthy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. Both of these recipes are reader favorites!
There’s no all-purpose flour, butter, or white sugar in this remarkably simple healthy cookie recipe! Because these cookies are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free, they are the perfect treat for sharing with people who have varying dietary restrictions.
Plus, you don’t need an electric mixer or a stand mixer for these flourless peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Just a bowl and something to stir with!
Let’s chat about the simple ingredients needed to make these cookies.
Ingredients for Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies:
Eggs: In order to make fluffy, chewy cookies, we use two chicken eggs. To make an egg-free vegan version, simply omit the eggs (no need to replace them with flax eggs or another egg replacer).
The egg-free version is not as fluffy, but the peanut butter flavor is out of this world! In fact, to all you peanut butter lovers, I recommend skipping the eggs so that you get that explosion of peanut butter flavor.
Peanut Butter: The true hero of these cookies, creamy peanut butter brings that amazing richness and drool-worthy peanut butter flavor. You can use regular peanut butter, natural peanut butter, or crunchy peanut butter.
Other nut butters like almond butter will work as a replacement as long as they are well-stirred.
Pure Maple Syrup: I love using pure maple syrup in recipes like this because it provides stickiness to add to the amazing texture and also keeps the treat refined sugar-free.
The recipe as written is not very sweet, especially if you use unsweetened peanut butter, so for a sweeter treat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of additional pure maple syrup or up to 1/3 cup of brown sugar or granulated cane sugar.
Oats: Old fashioned rolled oats make these amazing oatmeal cookies so dreamy. I use sprouted gluten free oats, but you can pick your favorite tried and true brand. I prefer old-fashioned oats over quick oats or instant oats, but they will work too.
Chocolate Chips: Semi-sweet chocolate chips add little pockets of rich and delicious chocolate goo, making these healthier cookies taste absolutely decadent. Use your favorite chocolate chips.
Dark chocolate chips, sugar-free chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, vegan chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or chocolate chunks are all excellent options.
Use peanut butter chips if you’re committed to peanut butter flavor or butterscotch chips if you’re a total badass.
The chocolate chips serve as a great deal of the sweetness, so if you’re skipping them, be sure to add some granulated sweetener to the cookies.
Salt & Cinnamon: I always recommend adding salt to sweet recipes because it helps bring out all the delicious flavors of each individual ingredient, giving the treat a cohesive flavor.
Ground cinnamon brings a subtle warmth for a lovely little nuance. You can skip it if you don’t love it.
Optional Additions:
- Add ½ cup of chopped raw walnuts or pecans for some nutty texture.
- If you have it on hand, add 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.
- Love dried fruit? Feel free to add ⅔ cup of raisins or dried cranberries.
- For vegan peanut butter oatmeal cookies, simply omit the eggs. You will end up with an incredibly rich peanut butter cookie if you do so. You can also add two ripe mashed bananas, similar to my 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies recipe.
I love how simple the wholesome ingredients list is for this peanut butter oatmeal cookie recipe. I don’t know about you, but I typically always have all of the ingredients on hand so I can whip these up at a moment’s notice.
In my opinion they are the best cookies for those times you have a hankering for something sweet but want to keep it healthier.
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until they are well-beaten.
Add in the peanut butter and pure maple syrup to the large bowl and stir until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
Stir in the dry ingredients (oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt) until a thick, sticky dough forms.
Mix in the chocolate chips until they are well-distributed throughout the dough.
Drop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, forming whatever size cookies you like. I make 6 giant cookies, but you can make smaller ones for a reasonable portion.
If you’d like, you can use a large cookie scoop to make big cookies or a couple tablespoons of dough to make smaller cookies. Sprinkle the raw cookie dough with extra chocolate chips if you’d like.
Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies appear set up. I bake mine for 10 minutes.
Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before serving. If you’d like, you can move them to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
These cookies can be stored at room temperature on the counter for up to 2 days in a sealed container or zip lock bag.
Store cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or freeze in a large zip lock freezer bag for up to 3 months.
And that’s it! A something for everyone healthy dessert or snack for all those times you’re craving the delectable combination of peanut butter and chocolate.
Are you a cookie monster? Try out these reader favorites!
More Delicious Cookie Recipes:
- Gluten-Free Cowboy Cookies
- The Best Giant Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Keto Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Coconut Flour Cookies
- 3-Ingredient Nutty Banana Cookies
- Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies with Walnuts
Peanut butter, chocolate, oatmeal, oh my!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 eggs*
- 1 cup peanut butter
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 2/3 cup chocolate chips optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until they are well-beaten.
- Add in the peanut butter and pure maple syrup to the large bowl and stir until the wet ingredients are well-combined.
- Stir in the dry ingredients (oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and sea salt) until a thick, sticky dough forms.
- Mix in the chocolate chips until they are well-distributed throughout the dough.
- Drop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheet, forming whatever size cookies you like. I make 6 giant cookies, but you can make smaller ones for a reasonable portion.
- Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies appear set up. I bake mine for 10 minutes.
- Allow the cookies to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I use powdered PB hydrated with water in this recipe?
Hi Frieda! I had someone try a low-fat peanut butter a few months ago and she said the cookies turned out dry. This leads me to believe that rehydrating powdered peanut butter would yield a similar result due to the lower fat content. Nevertheless if you’re up for experimentation, you could try making a half batch to test it and see if you like it. I know some people don’t mind a dryer cookie whereas others like them to be very gooey, so this can be person-specific 😉 Let me know if you have any other questions! xo
Love these like our homemade pb cookies. Added 1/2c brown sugar since some reviews said not sweet enough and perfect. Just added regular salt to recipe but may try without next time since pb often has salt added.
Thanks so much for sharing, Lori! This is super helpful to others who want to make the cookies. xo
I ended up with two dozen of the most chewy and delicious cookies I’ve ever baked…My husband was equally impressed, thank you ♥️
Awww I love hearing that! I’m so thrilled you and your husband enjoy the recipe! Thanks so much for the sweet note! xo
What do you think about a seasonal substitution of pumpkin in place of peanut butter? It often works in vegan recipes in place of things like oil, bananas. I may give it a try with some slight spice tweaks.
Hi Ali! I do think using pumpkin would work too! If you’d like, I have a recipe for pumpkin oatmeal cookies so you may want to try that one unless you’re fine with troubleshooting 🙂 Here it is in case you’re interested: https://www.theroastedroot.net/vegan-pumpkin-oatmeal-cookies/
Made a half batch mini ones as a trial, theyre great but think i should have flattened them abit & prob could add a few more oats, great low cholest mini sweet treat with a coffee, this recipe is a keeper will try banana version next time 😊
I’m happy to hear it all worked out for you and I love the idea of using more oats for a heartier texture. I hope you enjoy the banana version too! xoxo
I can’t see the ingredient list on this recipe because I can’t get rid of the ad that sits right in the middle of it. Thought you should know because I’m sure others are bypassing this recipe for the same issue.
Hi Deb! Have you tried clicking the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page? That skips right over the ads and takes you to the recipe card. From there, you can print the recipe if you’d like, which is what a lot of people do so that they don’t have to keep looking back at their computer screen or phone 🙂 Hope this helps!
We loved this recipe, thank you!
* Due to the fact we have tons of cans of applesauce in our pantry and little recipes to use them up on, I decided to do this recipe eggless and replace each egg with 1/4 C unsweetened applesauce. Please note, when replacing a baked item recipe with applesauce for eggs, add an additional 1/4 tsp baking soda per substitution to help with the rising or it will be too dense.*
We did half the recipe using dark chocolate chips, and the other half of the recipe adding dried cherries. My husband felt these were best, so the next batch (tonight!) will be the entire recipe, egg substitute with applesauce bc that’s what we have, and adding the dried cherries is the perfect cookie for our family!!!! Yummy! No guilt
@Carrie, sorry, that’s Dried cherries in addition to dark chocolate chips, wow, super yum and no added sugar
Ooh, all of that sounds incredible, Carrie! Thanks so much for sharing your changes!! This is super helpful to others who want to try the same thing.
Hi I made these today and they are delicious. The only thing I did different was instead of individual cookies I spread the whole mixture out on the baking sheet ( the smaller size one) and cooked it that way. Then cut them up into squares when they came out. I did cook them for a little longer( around 13-15 minutes).
I love the idea of turning the recipe into bars! Genius! Thanks for sharing, Anne Marie! xo
Are these cookies supposed to be very soft in the center?
Hi Lucy! The cookies don’t come out very soft in the center for me. If you want softer cookies, you could add a little additional peanut butter and/or bake for less time 🙂
Hi – would it work to mix the batter up the night before and bake in the morning? I think my kids would love them as a breakfast cookie and hot out of the oven is aways a win!
Hi Angela! I haven’t tested that myself but it should work just great! I would just bring the dough out of the refrigerator 10-15 minutes before baking to allow it to soften up. Hope you and your family enjoy the cookies! xo
I have made these following the exact recipe at least 5 times since the spring. Everyone loves them. I love the clean ingredients and how easy they are. Thanks for creating and sharing it!
Aww I love hearing that! It’s always so nice to know when a recipe is a keeper for someone, so I really appreciate you sharing that, Cristina! Best wishes to you and your family! xo
Can you use honey instead of maple syrup?
Hi Rachel! You can use honey but I would caution you to keep an eye on the cookies because honey burns at a lower temperature than any other sweetener. Just be sure to pull the cookies out of the oven before they get too dark and you’ll be good to go! I also have to mention that the flavor will be different when using honey, but if you’ve tried baked goods using honey in the past and you enjoy them, I say go for it 🙂
The cookie recipe sounds wonderful. Could I substitute maple flavoring instead of maple syrup?
Hi there! What sweetener are you planning on using? There’s no need to replace the flavor of the pure maple syrup unless you’d like to add the maple flavoring. You can use any granulated sweetener you like for the cookies in place of the pure maple syrup 🙂 I’d recommend brown sugar for the best result.
These are Amazing! I did make changes due to lack of ingredients. So, not sure how healthy they turned out but, they taste amazing. I used molasses instead of maple syrup. I added 2 eggs plus 1 mashed banana. 1 teaspoon vanilla. 1/3 cup walnuts and the choc chips, cinnamon and sea salt. The addition of a banana made it a bit runny so, I added 1 1/2 tablespoon organic coconut flour to thicken. They did not spread while cooking. I used a slightly heaping small cookie scoop. Baked at 350 for 15 mins. 28 cookies.
Thanks for sharing all these changes, Amy! It’s helpful to others who want to try the same things, and your version sounds delicious to me! I appreciate you swinging back around to share your experience! xo
Super easy to make and probably the best healthy cookie recipe I’ve found so far. Now I need to try and not eat all of them my self.
I’m happy to hear you enjoy them! I have a difficult time stopping at one, myself 😉 xo
These are amazing, soft, and delicious! I tjought they were plenty sweet and I enjoyed the addition of salt. I usually make an oat bar from the Real Food Dietitians that is similar but no salt. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ll be making again & again for our grab & go breakfasts!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoy the recipe, De! Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I love the way salt brings out flavors and gives the cookies even bolder flavor. So delightful! xo